Dark, tiny, confined,
\nBarely able to reach out in front of me.
\nI look up to see a pinpoint of light and have hope.
\nLooking for a way out, I push forward.
\nWall.
\nI run my fingers along the floor and feel a rock.
\nI place my foot on it as the air starts to thicken.
\nI clench onto a jagged stone and pull myself up, praying it does not give way.
\nI breathe a sigh of relief for it is strong, and I take one more step up.
\nI feel around again, this time finding a crevice.
\nI hold my breath as I place my hand inside.
\nExhaling, I take another step up, relieved the crevice was not otherwise occupied.
\nThe weight of my body becoming heavier over the next few maneuvers,
\nI start to feel weak.
\nI want to give up,
\nLet go and fall back to the bottom.
\nI take another breath.
\nWAIT!
\nIt’s different…
\nThe air isn’t as thick.
\nI close my eyes for a moment, and when I open them –
\nI can start to make out the bricks on the wall…
\nMy strength comes back, and I begin climbing faster.
\nEvery so often, my foot slips.
\nI stop, discouraged and afraid.
\nI look up and see the pinpoint light has now become the size of a basketball.
\nI close my eyes and take a deep breath.
\nSlow down!
\nIt’s not a race, I remind myself.
\nI open my eyes and continue on.
\nThe darkness is fading away, and I can breathe easier.
\nAre those voices I hear?
\nAre they calling my name?
\nNo.
\nJust silence.
\nFeeling alone again,
\nI want to give up.
\nI start to cry, ready to let go.
\nWhat’s the point?
\nThere’s no end to this.
\nBut then…
\nThe light becomes blinding,
\nThe air, pure.
\nSuddenly, I feel hands grabbing, pulling.
\nFrightened, I scream and start to fight back.
\nMy eyes adjust to the new light, and I stop fighting.
\nI am wrapped safely in the arms of my family and friends,
\nMy loved ones who helped save me from the darkness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dark, tiny, confined, Barely able to reach out in front of me. I look up to see a pinpoint of light and have hope. Looking for a way out, I push forward. Wall. I run my fingers along the floor and feel a rock. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5398"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129450,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128752\/revisions\/129450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}